No. 1 priority for me this season was improving in their own end. Don't care if the offense dries up a bit, chances will come if they clean up their d-zone play and can regularly exit with possession. Tonight for me was a great example of what I want to see. Natural Stat Trick has them giving up only five High Danger chances 5v5, none in the third period. Aside from about a five-minute stretch in the second, they gave Chicago very little. Bedard was erased. Better zone exits too, AlJo is particularly good at reverses which give him better lanes for passing and clearing zone and he's a good influence on Gus who had by far his best game. We saw Chiarot, AlJo, Gus and Edvinsson jump up into plays, Ed constantly hunting for chances back-door. That's where offense can come from with this current set-up of one skill line, three grinding lines. Tough for Raymond, but I'd like to see how this works for a while. There is a much clearer team identitiy with this configuration: "Larkin, score. All you other guys, don't give up anything." Won't work long-term, might get them a WC spot short-term.
.It would be a terrible idea to send Kasper down. He's fitting in really well defensively and has a responsible approach to what he needs to do. He is the glue for that line not giving up much while they try to develop some offensive chemistry. One sequence stands out: Back-checking hard, bodying a guy off the puck in the neutral zone, taking the puck away and immediately moving it to a teammate in stride moving up-ice. He's always coming all the way back, doesn't bobble the puck, makes safe plays that advance possession. Influential on the forecheck, hunting down loose pucks, putting his body in the right places. Stop looking at boxscores to determine if he belongs. He does.
Petry is done.
